Diversity Visa Update: December Cut-Offs Steady for Most; January Jumps Africa from 17,500 to 35,000

The Department of State has released the Visa Bulletin for December 2025, confirming the Diversity Immigrant (DV) visa rank cut-offs for the DV-2026 program. For December, most regional cut-off numbers remain unchanged from November.

The DV program annually allocates 50,000 immigrant visas to individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. Only those DV selectees whose rank numbers fall below the listed cut-off for their respective region are eligible to proceed with their visa application or adjustment of status.

Comparing the cut-off numbers for November and December 2025 reveals minimal movement across the primary regional allocations. Most regions saw no changes: the primary cut-off rank for applicants in the Africa region held steady at 17,500. The cut-off numbers for Asia (10,000), Europe (7,750), Oceania (1,100), and South America and the Caribbean (1,850) also remained unchanged from November to December.

However, there was notable advancement for applicants from Algeria within the Africa region, with the cut-off rank increasing from 14,500 in November to 17,250 in December. Egypt’s cut-off remained static at 16,000 in both months, and in Asia, Nepal’s cut-off also held steady at 6,000.

The December Visa Bulletin also provides advance notification of the cut-off numbers that will apply in January 2026. For Africa, the general cut-off will leap from 17,500 in December to 35,000 in January. Algeria’s cut-off will rise further, from 17,250 to 20,000, while Egypt remains an exception, with its cut-off staying at 16,000.

Asia’s general cut-off will increase from 10,000 to 15,000 in January, although Nepal’s cut-off will remain at 6,000. The Europe region cut-off will advance from 7,750 to 8,500. The cut-off numbers for North America (Bahamas), Oceania, and South America and the Caribbean will remain unchanged for January.

DV-2026 selectees are strongly advised to check their status and the official Visa Bulletin each month to confirm their eligibility for processing.

Approximately 129,516 potential applicants were selected for the DV-2026 program globally, from 20,822,624 eligible applications received during the entry period from October 2 to November 7, 2024. For Nepal, 3,933 individuals were selected.

The number of selectees is intentionally greater than the 55,000 available visas to account for those who do not complete their application or are found ineligible. DV-2026 winners must receive their visas between October 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026.

Applicants had submitted their entries during the 37-day application period. The selectees were chosen through a lottery from the registered applicants.

The DV-2025 program concluded on September 30, 2025. Unfortunately, Nepalese DV winners with case numbers higher than 14,450 did not receive a visa, leading to disappointment among those applicants. With the start of the Fiscal Year 2026 DV program on October 1, the previous DV-2025 program has ended.

Globally, a total of 131,060 people were selected for DV-2025, although only 55,000 visas are available. A total of 19,927,656 individuals applied for the DV-2025 lottery.

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, mandated by the U.S. Congress, is administered annually by the U.S. Department of State. Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act establishes the Diversity Immigrant class for individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. To qualify for the DV program, selected applicants must meet strict eligibility requirements. Visas are distributed across six geographic regions, and no single country may receive more than seven percent of the total Diversity Visas in a given year.

While the U.S. DV Lottery usually opens in the first week of October each year, the DV-2027 opening has been delayed. The State Department has not yet announced the registration dates for the DV Lottery. The delay has been attributed to the need to develop systems for implementing a $1 fee for DV registration.

The State Department clarified that the announcement for the Diversity Visa Lottery program will be made soon. The Department published the final rule establishing the $1 fee for Diversity Visa Lottery program registration in the Federal Register last September. This new fee must be collected electronically when submitting the DV application, and is estimated to generate approximately $25 million in revenue.

The Trump administration has also proposed a rule making a passport mandatory for DV lottery applicants. Officially proposed in August, this rule will not be implemented this cycle due to the time required for finalization.

Previously, an interim rule requiring a passport for DV applications was implemented by the Trump administration in June 2019 but was later struck down by Judge Timothy Kelly, who ruled that it was enacted without proper procedure.

The current Trump administration is now working to reinstate the passport requirement while ensuring legal compliance. The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on August 5, 2025, with the public comment period open until September 19, 2025.